Shocking Images Of Devastation Continue To Pour In From Western North Carolina

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As Hurricane Milton bears down on Florida, Mountain communities in North Carolina have been absolutely devastated by Hurricane Helene, which initially made landfall in Florida on Sept. 26 as a Category 4 – and had not been expected to hit the mountainous regions with such ferocity.

A wrecked car near the Swannanoa River, N.C., in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on Oct. 3, 2024. Richard Moore/The Epoch Times

But as Helene moved north, it gathered strength, fueled by unprecedented rainfall that had accumulated after a two-month drought, defying traditional forecasting models.

Local meteorologists and residents struggled to grasp the magnitude of the disaster that has left more than 200 people dead and hundreds more missing. “When you start talking about really specific impacts, it’s hard to have imagination ahead of time that something this extreme could have the impact it did,” Steve Wilkinson, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Greenville-Spartanburg, told The Guardian.

Photograph: Rob Amberg/The Guardian

The devastation was not limited to North Carolina. Neighboring states saw similar fates, with towns obliterated and critical infrastructure like Interstate 40 and I-26 severely damaged, disrupting major transportation routes.

As the Epoch Times notes further, Asheville, NC has been particularly hard hit.

In most places, the floodwater is gone, leaving large brown spots on the ground, but the suffering it brought persists. The community faces a cascade of problems for which there is no simple solution.

The Water Shortage

Perhaps the greatest irony of Helene is the dire lack of potable water after the floods. The storm completely destroyed Asheville’s water supply system. Water mains and underground pipes were swept away as the ground itself was removed by the torrent. Not a single building in town can access running water, and citizens survive by the thousands of gallons of water being shipped in every day.

“We need portable water … nobody can flush their toilets, nobody can take a shower, nobody can do laundry. We have no water and the infrastructure for that water is totally destroyed,” Dr. Carly Brown, a primary care physician in Asheville’s River Arts District, told The Epoch Times.

“I haven’t had a shower since last Wednesday. I’m hearing horrible things about [others],” Wendy Feinberg, a 77-year-old retired schoolteacher in Asheville, told The Epoch Times.

(Top) The remains of a house atop Tunnel Road Bridge in Asheville, N.C. on Oct. 3, 2024. (Bottom) A sign reads “No Public Showers” outside an American Red Cross Relief Shelter in Asheville, N.C., on Oct. 3, 2024. Arjun Singh/The Epoch Times

“There’s no running water in all of Asheville,” Ryan Austin, an Asheville local and disaster relief worker, told The Epoch Times. “Plenty of people are bringing in bottled water for drinking but there’s no way to use water for [anything else].”

The lack of water has been particularly dire at hospitals and shelters, where many injured and homeless citizens are taking refuge. Mission Hospital, a level-2 trauma center with 1,200 beds in downtown Asheville, was reportedly digging wells to find water for essential services, Brown said.

“There was feces piled up in the toilets, and people had buckets next to their rooms, and they were flushing their toilets that way… [Doctors] couldn’t do procedures because there was no way to clean their utensils,” Brown said.

Avery County, NC via @DangerouzDillon

Access to water is the top demand from Asheville’s citizens.

“The biggest thing right now is that we definitely need to fix the infrastructure for the water. Water is the major need here,” said Rev. Micheal Woods, the pastor of Western Carolina Rescue Ministries in Asheville, whose facilities have become a staging point to accept donations and distribute them to the community. Woods told The Epoch Times he wants President Joe Biden and Gov. Roy Cooper (D-N.C.) to make water restoration their top priority.

“I’m down to four water bottles,” said Yoshida Mills, a resident of Asheville who came to collect free water bottles and supplies at a community center. “Give me everything.”

Pastor Micheal Woods of the Western Carolina Rescue Ministries leans on a stack of donated drinking water in Asheville, N.C., on Oct. 3, 2024. Richard Moore/The Epoch Times

Crime and Looting

The post-flood destruction has birthed another fear: crime. Several citizens reported incidents of looting to The Epoch Times, claiming that looters are targeting damaged and/or abandoned properties—motivated by desperation amid shortages, and opportunity, given many residents have fled.

Many fear they will be victims of a home invasion and are taking steps to defend themselves.

“I actually own a gun. I have it loaded and sitting by my bed, and I have a butcher knife and a can of wasp spray. I am afraid at night,” said Feinberg, the retired schoolteacher. “It’s totally dark, and nobody’s around, so just in case the looters decide to venture out, I’m there … We’re a little nervous about looting.”

“We have heard there was looting in Swannanoa and Black Mountain,” said Brown, referring to nearby towns around Asheville. Many who say they’re residents of the area have claimed on social media that looting is ongoing.